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HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES, U.S.
PUILIC OOCUllOO
POSTAL PATRON-Loe.I
7th District
MICHIGAN
SPICIAL NOTE
We hove delayed thit newsletter so you could hove o brief odvonce report on Congres1mon Riegle'• mi1sion to Vietnam. We
ore preparing a comprehensive report which wlll be moiled to you in the near future.
Evaluating U.S. Foreign Aid in Vietnam, Southeast Asia and the Mideast
In behalf of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Riegle was
asked to investigate U.S. economic and military assistance to developing countries.
His mission included on-the-spot evaluation-o•'Cr the February Congressional
recess-of U.S. policy and foreign aid spending in Vietnam, Korea. Thaila.nd and
India. He also received military briefings al NATO headquarters in Brussels and
in Istanbul. Congressman Riegle met with President Thieu of South Vietnam
and top U.S. officials in Saigon. He also spent three days traveling throughout
the country by helicopter, jeep and on foot assessing the present ability of the
South Vietnamese people to defend and rebuild their own country. He concluded:
"While the South Vietnamese have improved their fighting capability, the U.S.
effort continues on a massive scale, and the military war is far from over. In frank
discussions with top South Vietnamese leaders they agreed that the Army of
Vietnam must take on more battlefield responsibility and that progressive 'dc­Americanization'
of combat operations and overall U.S. troop reductions must
get underway soon. I believe a beginning or withdrawal of U.S. troops must
begin no later than the end o( the third quarter of 1969, and the South Viet­namese
leaders agreed with this opinion."
On his visit to rural areas, Congressman Riegle said, "The major problem con-
Cong'"'"'°" IUet~ tolkl to r•fvgee
~ children al o lvddtll't refvgee tomp
rt.or Donollg, $o111h Vietl'loM.
leovl"V a U.S. flr•boie comp 200
yordt from enemy poiltlont ot
Ouyiuiy In Ql#Ong Nam ProvlMt
n.or the DMZ.
tinues to be the basic unalignment of much of South
Vietnam's rural population. I learned that some vil­lages
termed 'pacified' still pay more taxes to the Viet
Coog than to the Government of Vietnam. The paci­fication
pro~rnm has shown some progress, but I
believe U.S. officials in Saigon must push the South
Vietnamese harder on economic reform, refugee
resettlement and solving the corruption problem."
Congreul'llOn Rt.gt• conferring with South VietnonMl-t Prttkltl'll lh'91i1 ol\CI U.S. Ambot10dor flltworth
l"'nktr obo111 tht ftttd to "dt·AtMriconiit" the wor.

HOUSE or REPRESENTATIVES, U.S.
PUILIC OOCUllOO
POSTAL PATRON-Loe.I
7th District
MICHIGAN
SPICIAL NOTE
We hove delayed thit newsletter so you could hove o brief odvonce report on Congres1mon Riegle'• mi1sion to Vietnam. We
ore preparing a comprehensive report which wlll be moiled to you in the near future.
Evaluating U.S. Foreign Aid in Vietnam, Southeast Asia and the Mideast
In behalf of the House Appropriations Committee, Congressman Riegle was
asked to investigate U.S. economic and military assistance to developing countries.
His mission included on-the-spot evaluation-o•'Cr the February Congressional
recess-of U.S. policy and foreign aid spending in Vietnam, Korea. Thaila.nd and
India. He also received military briefings al NATO headquarters in Brussels and
in Istanbul. Congressman Riegle met with President Thieu of South Vietnam
and top U.S. officials in Saigon. He also spent three days traveling throughout
the country by helicopter, jeep and on foot assessing the present ability of the
South Vietnamese people to defend and rebuild their own country. He concluded:
"While the South Vietnamese have improved their fighting capability, the U.S.
effort continues on a massive scale, and the military war is far from over. In frank
discussions with top South Vietnamese leaders they agreed that the Army of
Vietnam must take on more battlefield responsibility and that progressive 'dc­Americanization'
of combat operations and overall U.S. troop reductions must
get underway soon. I believe a beginning or withdrawal of U.S. troops must
begin no later than the end o( the third quarter of 1969, and the South Viet­namese
leaders agreed with this opinion."
On his visit to rural areas, Congressman Riegle said, "The major problem con-
Cong'"'"'°" IUet~ tolkl to r•fvgee
~ children al o lvddtll't refvgee tomp
rt.or Donollg, $o111h Vietl'loM.
leovl"V a U.S. flr•boie comp 200
yordt from enemy poiltlont ot
Ouyiuiy In Ql#Ong Nam ProvlMt
n.or the DMZ.
tinues to be the basic unalignment of much of South
Vietnam's rural population. I learned that some vil­lages
termed 'pacified' still pay more taxes to the Viet
Coog than to the Government of Vietnam. The paci­fication
pro~rnm has shown some progress, but I
believe U.S. officials in Saigon must push the South
Vietnamese harder on economic reform, refugee
resettlement and solving the corruption problem."
Congreul'llOn Rt.gt• conferring with South VietnonMl-t Prttkltl'll lh'91i1 ol\CI U.S. Ambot10dor flltworth
l"'nktr obo111 tht ftttd to "dt·AtMriconiit" the wor.